Mr.
John Greenewald Jr.
Dear
Mr.
Greenewald:
U.S. Department of Justice
Federal Bureau of Investigati
on
Washington, D.
C.
20535
February
14
, 2013
Subject: Swartz, Aaron H
FOIPA
No
. 1207117
The enclosed documents were reviewed under the Freedom
of
Information/Privacy Acts (FOIPA), Title 5,
United States Code, Section 552/552a. Deletions have been made
to
protect information which
is
exempt from
disclosure, with the appropriate exemptions noted
on
the page next to the excision.
In
addition, a deleted page
information sheet was inserted
in
the file
to
indicate where pages were withheld entirely. The exemptions used
to
withhold information are marked below and explained
on
the enclosed Explanation
of
Exemptions:
r {b){1)
{b){2)
(b ){3)
(b)(4)
r {b){5)
p (b)(6)
Section 552
(b){?)(A)
r {b)(?)(B)
j
~
(b)(?)(C)
r (b)(?)(D)
p (b)(?)(E)
p (b)(?)(F)
(b)(B)
(b
)(9)
23
page(s) were reviewed and
21
page(s) are being released.
Section 552a
(d)(5)
(j)(2)
(k)(1)
(k)(2)
(k)(3)
r (k)(4)
(k)(5)
(k)(6)
(k)(?)
Document(s) were located which originated with, or contained information concerning other Government
agency(ies) (OGA]. This information has been:
r referred to the OGA for review and direct response to you.
r referred to the OGA for consultation. The
FBI
will correspond with you regarding this information
when the consultation
is
finished.
In
accordance with standard FBI practice and pursuant
to
FOIA exemption (b)(?){E)
[5
U.S.C. § 552
{b)(?){E)], this
re
sponse neither confirms nor denies
th
le existence of your subject's name
on
any watch lists.
For your information, Congress excluded three discrete categories of law enforcement and national
security records from the requirements of the FOIA. See 5 U.S.
C.§
552{c) (2006 & Supp.
IV
(2010). This
response is limited to those records that are subject to the requirements of the FOIA. This is a standard
notification that is given to all our requesters and should not be taken as
an
indication that excluded records
do,
or
do not, exist.
p You have the right to appeal any denials in this release. Appeals should be directed
in
writing to the Director, Office
of Information Policy (OIP), U.S. Department
of
Justice,1425 New York Ave., NW, Suite 11050, Washington, D.C.
20530-0001, or you may submit an appeal through OIP's eFOIA portal at http://www.justice.gov/oip/efoia-portal.html.
Your appeal must be received by OIP within sixty (60) days from the date of this letter in order to be considered timely.
The envelope and the letter should be clearly marked "Freedom of Information Appeal." Please cite the FOIPA
Request Number assigned to your request so that it may be easily identified.
r The enclosed material is from the main investigative file(s)
in
which the subject(s)
of
your request was the focus of
the investigation. Our search located additional references,
in
files relating to other individuals, or matters, which may
or may not be about your subject(s). Our experience has shown when ident, references usually contain information
similar to the information processed
in
the main file(s). Because
of
our significant backlog, we have given priority to
processing only the main investigative file(s). If you want the references, you must submit a separate request for them
in
writing, and they will be reviewed at a later date,
as
time and resources permit.
See additional information which follows.
Enclosures (2)
Sincerely,
David
M.
Hardy
Section Chief
Record/Information
Dissemination Section
Records Management Division
(b)(
l)
(b)(2)
(b)(3)
(b)(4)
(b
)(5)
EXPLANATION
OF
EXEMPTIONS
SUBSECTIONS
OF
TITLE
5,
UNITED
STATES CODE,
SECTION
552
(A) specifically authorized under criteria established by
an
Executive order to be kept secret in the interest
of
national defense or foreign policy
and (B) are
in
fact properly chtssified to such Executive order;
related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices
of
an agency;
specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than section 552b
of
this title), provided that such statute(A) requires that the matters
be withheld from the public
in
such a manner
as
to leave no discretion on issue, or (B) establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to
particular types
of
matters to be withheld;
trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person and privileged or confidential;
inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters which would not be available by law to a party other than
an
agency in litigation with the
agency;
(b)(6) personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure
of
which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion
of
personal privacy;
(b )(7) records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production
of
such law enforcement records or
information
(A)
could be reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,
(B)
would deprive a person
of
a right to a fair
trial or
an
impartial adjudication,
(C)
could be reasonably expected
to
constitute an unwarranted invasion
of
personal privacy,
(D)
could
reasonably be expected to disclose the identity
of
confidential source, including a State, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private
institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, and,
in
the case
of
record or information compiled by a criminal law
enforcement authority
in
the course
of
a criminal investigation, or by
an
agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence
investigation, information furnished by a confidential source,
(E)
would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement
investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions
if
such disclosure could
reasonably be expected to risk circumvention
of
the law, or
(F)
could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety
of
any
individual;
(b
)(8) contained
in
or related
to
examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use
of
an
agency responsible for the
regulation or supervision
of
financial institutions; or
(b)(9) geological and geophysical information and data, including maps, concerning wells.
SUBSECTIONS
OF
TITLE
5, UNITED STATES CODE,
SECTION
552a
(d)(5) information compiled
in
reasonable anticipation
of
a civil action proceeding;
(j)(2) material reporting investigative efforts pertaining to the enforcement
of
criminal law including efforts to prevent, control, or reduce crime or
apprehend criminals;
(k)(l)
information which is currently and properly classified pursuant to an Executive order in the interest
of
the national defense or foreign policy,
for example, information involving intelligence sources or methods;
(k)(2) investigatory material compiled for law enforcement purposes, other than criminal, which did not result in loss
of
a right, benefit or privilege
under Federal programs, or which would identify a source who furnished information pursuant to a promise that his/her identity would be held
in confidence;
(k)(3) material maintained
in
connection with providing protective services to the President
of
the United States or any other individual pursuant to
the authority
of
Title
18,
United States Code, Section 3056;
(k)(4) required by statute to be maintained and used solely
as
statistical records;
(k)(5) investigatory material compiled solely for the purpose
of
determining suitability, eligibility, or qualifications for Federal civilian employment
or for access to classified information, the disclosure
of
which would reveal the identity
of
the person who furnished information pursuant
to
a
promise that his/her identity wou
ld
be held
in
confidence;
(k)(6) testing or examination material used to determine individual qualifications for appointment or promotion
in
Federal Government service he
release
of
which would compromise the testing or examination process;
(k)(7) material used to determine potential for promotion
in
the armed services, the disclosure
of
which would reveal the identity
of
the person
who furnished the material pursuant
to
a promise that his/her identity would be held
in
confidence.
FBI/DOJ
(Rev.
05-01-2008)
UNCLASSIFIED
FEDERAL
BUREAU
OF
INVESTIGATION
Precedence:
ROUTINE
Date:
02/06/2009
To:
Chicago
Attn:
North
RA
From:
Washington
Field
CR-17
I
NVRA~--------------------------------~
Contact:
SA
Approved
By:
~========--~~
Drafted
By:
Case
ID
#:
288A-WF-238943
(Pending)
Title:
UNSUB(S);
US
COURTS
- VICTIM;
COMPUTER
INTRUSION -
OTHER
Synopsis:
To
set
lead
to
locate
Aaron
Swartz.
Enclosure(s):
Attached
is
an~~--------~~Report
for
Swartz.
b6
b7C
b7
F
Details:
The
U.S.
Courts
implemented
a
pilot
project
offering
free
access
to
federal
court
records
~hrough
the
PACER
system
at
seventeen
federal
depository
libraries.
Library
personnel
maintain
login
and
password
security
and
provide
access
to
users
from
computers
within
the
library.
PACER
normally
carries
an
eight
cents
per
page
fee,
however,
by
accessing
from
one
of
the
seventeen
libraries,
users
may
search
and
download
data
for
free.
Between
September
4,
2008
and
September
22,
2008,
PACER
was
accessed
by
computers
from
outside
the
library
utilizing
login
information
from
two
libraries
participating
in
the
pilot
project.
The
Administrative
Office
of
the
U.S.
Courts
reported
that
the
PACER
system
was
being
inundated
with
requests.
One
request
was
being
made
every
three
seconds.
The
login
information
was
compromised
at
the
Sacramento
County
Public
Law
Library
(SPLL)
and
the
Seventh
Circuit
Court
of
Appeals
Library
(SCCA) .
The
two
accounts
were
responsible
for
downloading
more
than
eighteen
million
pages
with
an
approximate
value
of
$1.5
million.
UNCLASSIFIED
b7E
UNCLASSIFIED
To:
Chicago
From:
Washington
Field
Re:
288A-WF-238943,
02/06/2009
During
the
compromise,
there
was
one
continuous
session
with
one
log
in
and
access
was
made
every
one
to
two
seconds.
The
compromise
took
place
during
regular
business
hours.
Data
that
was
exfiltrated
went
to
one
of
two
Amazon
IP
addresses.
Investigation
has
determined
that
the
Amazon
IP
address
used
to
access
the
PACER
system
belongs
to
Aaron
Swartz
.
address:
The
following
information
was
provided
for
the
IP
Name:
Address:
Telephone:
Aaron
Swartz
349
Marshman
Avenue
Highland
Park,
IL
60035
847-432-8857
A
search
inl
land
Swartz's
personal
webpage
confirmed
this
informa~t~~~·o-n--.--~S~wartz's
social
security
account
number
is
360-84-0493.
The
telephone
subscriber
for
telephone
number~!
----------~lisl
I
NCIC
report
for
Aaron
Swartz
was
negative.
A
search
for
wages
for
Swartz
at
the
Department
of
Labor
was
negative
.
UNCLASSIFIED
2
b6
b 7C
b7E
UNCLASSIFIED
To:
Chicago
From:
Washington
Field
Re:
288A-WF-238943,
02/06/2009
LEAD(s):
Set
Lead
1:
(Action)
CHICAGO
AT
NORTH
RA
Washington
Field
Office
requests
that
the
North
RA
attempt
to
locate
AARON
SWARTZ,
his
vehicles,
drivers
license
information
and
picture,
and
others,
at
349
Marshman
Avenue,
Highland
Park,
IL
60035.
Since
SWARTZ
is
the
potential
subject
of
an
ongoing
investigation,
it
is
requested
that
SWARTZ
not
be
approached
by
Agents.
If
there
are
any
questions
or
concerns,
please
contact
SA~'----------------------------~'
••
UNCLASSIFIED
3
b6
b7
C
b 7F
(Rev
.
05-01-2008)
UNCLASSIFIED
FEDERAL
BUREAU
OF
INVESTIGATION
Precedence:
ROUTINE
Date:
02/06/2009
To:
Chicago
Attn
: SSA
L.l
-------J
From:
Washington
Field
CR
-
17
I
NVRA~-----------------------------,
Contact:
SA
Approved
By:
'~--------------~
Drafted
By:
Case
ID
# :
288A-WF-238943
Title:
UNSUB(S);
(Pending)
US
COURTS
- VICTIM;
COMPUTER
INTRUSION -
OTHER
Synopsis:
To
set
lead
to
locate
Aaron
Swartz
.
Enclosure(s):
Attached
is
ani~------~
Report
for
Swartz.
b6
b 7C
b7F
b7
E
Details:
The
U.S
.
Courts
implemented
a
pilot
project
offering
free
access
to
federal
court
records
through
the
PACER
system
at
seventeen
federal
depository
libraries.
Library
personnel
maintain
login
and
password
security
and
provide
access
to
users
from
computers
within
the
library.
PACER
normally
carries
an
eight
cents
per
page
fee,
however,
by
accessing
from
one
of
the
seventeen
libraries,
users
may
search
and
download
data
for
free
.
Between
September
4,
2008
and
September
22,
2008,
PACER
was
accessed
by
computers
from
outside
the
library
utilizing
login
information
from
two
libraries
participating
in
the
pilot
project.
The
Administrative
Office
of
the
U.S.
Courts
reported
that
the
PACER
system
was
being
inundated
with
requests.
One
request
was
being
made
every
three
seconds
.
The
login
information
was
compromised
at
the
Sacramento
County
Public
Law
Library
(SPLL)
and
the
Seventh
Circuit
Court
of
Appeals
Library
(SCCA) .
The
two
accounts
were
responsible
for
downloading
more
than
eighteen
million
pages
with
an
approximate
value
of
$1.5
million.
UNCLASSIFIED
UNCLASSIFIED
To:
Chicago
From:
Washington
Field
Re:
288A-WF-238943,
02/06/2009
During
the
compromise,
there
was
one
continuous
session
with
one
log
in
and
access
was
made
every
one
to
two
seconds.
The
compromise
took
place
during
regular
business
hours
.
Data
that
was
exfiltrated
went
to
one
of
two
Amazon
IP
addresses.
Investigation
has
determined
that
the
Amazon
IP
address
used
to
access
the
PACER
system
belongs
to
Aaron
Swartz.
address:
The
following
information
was
provided
for
the
IP
Name:
Address:
Telephone:
Aaron
Swartz
349
Marshman
Avenue
Highland
Park,
IL
60035
847-432-8857
A
search
in~~~----------~lswartz's
personal
webpage
confirmed
this
information.
Swartz's
social
security
account
number
is
360-84-0493.
The
telephone
subscriber
for
telephone
numberl~----------~
1
isj
I
NCIC
report
for
Aaron
Swartz
was
negative.
A
search
for
wages
for
Swartz
at
the
Department
of
Labor
was
negative.
UNCLASSIFIED
2
b7E
b6
b7C
UNCLASSIFIED
To:
Chicago
From:
Washington
Field
Re:
288A-WF-238943,
02/06/2009
LEAD(s):
Set
Lead
1:
{Action)
CHICAGO
AT
CHICAGO,
ILLINOIS
Washington
Field
Office
requests
that
Chicago
attempt
to
locate
AARON
SWARTZ,
his
vehicles,
drivers
license
information
and
picture,
and
others,
at
349
Marshman
Avenue,
Highland
Park,
IL
60035.
Since
SWARTZ
is
the
potential
subject
of
an
ongoing
investigation,
it
is
requested
that
SWARTZ
not
be
approached
by
Agents
.
••
If
there
are
any
m1estjons
or
conrerns,
UNCLASSIFIED
3
please
contact
b 6
b 7C
b 7F
(Rev.
05-01-2008)
UNCLASSIFIED
FEDERAL
BUREAU
OF
INVESTIGATION
Precedence:
ROUTINE
To:
Washington
Field
Date:
02/24/2009
Attn:
CR-17
/
NVRA
From:
Chicago
North
RA
1
Contact:
SA.__
______
___.
Approved
By:
Drafted
By:
Case
ID
#:
288A-WF-238943
Title:
UNSUB(S)i
US
COURTS
- VICTIMi
COMPUTER
INTRUSION -
OTHER
SA
Synopsis:
Lead
covered
by
Chicago
North
RA
Enclosure
s
Illinois
DL/ID
Ima
e
of
Swartz
and
I..__
___
_.
Details:
Attempted
to
locate
AARON
SWARTZ,
his
vehicles,
drivers
license
information
and
picture,
and
others
at
349
Marshman
Avenue,
Highland
Park,
IL
60035.
Successfully
located
drivers
license
photo
for
SWARTZ.
Drove
by
address
in
an
attempt
to
locate
SWARTZ
or
vehicles
related
to
the
residence,
but
was
unsuccessful.
House
is
set
on
a
deep
lot,
behind
other
houses
on
Marshman
Avenue.
This
is
a
heavily
wooded,
dead-end
street,
with
no
other
cars
parked
on
the
road
making
continued
surveillance
difficult
to
conduct
without
severely
increasing
the
risk
of
discovery.
However,
drivers
license
andl
I
information
lists
address
above.
Other
family
members
ar7
listed
ai
:ur:en:
re:c·dence
a~d
four
vehicles
are
currently
reg1stered
to
. _ _ _
__
who
res1des
at
above
address.
Illinois
database
c
ec
s
or
ARTZ
yielded
negative
results.
SWARTZ
has
no
arrests,
no
registered
vehicles
or
property.
UNCLASSIFIED
b
b c
b F
b
7E
;.
,
~
.
~
, .
. b
7E
·
~
b6
b 7C
UNCLASSIFIED
To:
Washington
Field
From:
Chicago
Re:
288A-WF-238943,
02/24/2009
Chicago
considers
this
lead
covered.
UNCLASSIFIED
2
UNCLASSIFIED
To:
Washington
Field
From:
Chicago
Re:
288A-WF-238943,
02/24/2009
LEAD
(s):
Set
Lead
1:
(Info)
WASHINGTON
FIELD
AT
WASHINGTON
DC
Read
and
clear
.
••
UNCLASSIFIED
3
FD-302
(Rev.
10-6-95)
. I -
FEDERAL BUREAU
OF
INVESTIGATION
Date
of
transcription
02/19/2009
AARON
SWARTZ
has
a
profile
on
the
website
LINKEDIN,
at
www.linkedin.com/in/aaronsw.
SWARTZ
is
listed
as
a
writer,
hacker
and
activist
based
in
the
San
Francisco
Bay
Area.
SWARTZ's
education
includes
Stanford
University,
Sociology,
2004.
SWARTZ's
experience
includes
the
following:
Founder
of
watchdog.net
2008
-
Present
Tech
Lead
at
Open
Library
2007
-
Present
Co-founder
of
reddit
November
2005
-
January
2007
Metadata
Advisor
at
Creative
Commons
2002
-
2004
Member
of
RDF
Core
Working
Group
1999
-
2000
Member
of
W3C
1999
-
2000
The
website
watchdog.net:
the
good
government
site
with
teeth
states
that
"We're
trying
to
build
a
hub
for
politics
on
the
Internet".
This
plan
includes
pulling
all
information
about
politics,
votes,
lobbying
records,
and
campaign
finance
reports
together
under
one
unified
interface.
SWARTZ
posted
blogs
on
07/30/2008,
06/16/2008,
05/07/2008,
04/21/2008,
04/16/2008,
04/14/2008.
SWARTZ
has
a
profile
on
the
website
FACEBOOK.
His
networks
include
Stanford
'08
and
Boston,
MA.
The
picture
used
in
his
profile
was
also
used
in
an
article
about
SWARTZ
in
THE
NEW
YORK
TIMES.
SWARTZ's
personal
webpage,
www.aaronsw.com,
includes
a
section
titled
"Aaron
Swartz:
a
lifetime
of
dubious
accomplishments".
In
2007,
SWARTZ
began
working
full-time
as
a
Investigation on
02/15/2009
at
Manassas,
VA
----~~--------
F~#
288A-WF-238943
Date dictated
b6
~ S
b7C
----;_------------------------------~------------------------------
b
7
F
---------
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of
the
FBI. It
is
the property of the FBI and is loaned to your agency;
it and its contents are not to
be
distributed outside your agency.
FD-302a
(Rev.
10-6·95)
288A-WF-238943
Continuation ofFD-302
of
_
___,S"'W..,.A......._,R
....
T..,.Z._'_,s..__o"""'"'n""'l""'i
....
n...,e"---~g~r....,.,o..,.f-=i'-"l'""e...,s"-------
, On 0
2/15/2
0 0 9 . Page
...2....
member
of
the
Long-Term
Planning
Committee
for
the
Human
Race
(LTPCHR) .
'
-~
l
FD-302
(Rev.
10-6-95)
- 1 -
FEDERAL BUREAU
OF
INVESTIGATION
Date
of
transcription
b6
b7C
02/19/2009
On
February
17,
2008,
S~
I
received
an
ema
i l
from
r-----------~~1
Administrative
Offi~c~e~o~f~~~n~e~US
Courts,
with
links
to
two
publ1sfied
articles
regarding
the
compromise
of
the
PACER
system.
On
February
12,
2009,
I
published
an
article
in
THE
NEW
YORK
TIMES
titled
"An
Effort
to
Upgrade
a
Court
Archive
System
to
Free
and
Easy".
For
the
article,
! !
interviewed
~------------~and
AARON
SWARTZ
regarding
the
compromise
of
the
PACER
system.
The
following
information
is
found
in
the
article:
~~~~~!urged
fellow
activists
to
go
to
the
seventeen
libraries
offering
the
free
trial,
download
as
many
court
documents
as
they
could,
and
send
them
to
him
for
republication
on
the
Web
.
SWARTZ
readl
lappeal
and
downloaded
an
estimated
twenty
percent
(20%)
of
the
PACER
database.
a
Government
Printing
Office
official,
told
librarians
that
the
security
of
the
PACER
service
was
compromised
and
the
FBI
was
conducting
an
investigation
.
no
laws.
Lawyers
for
1..__
__
___.1
and
SWARTZ
told
them
they
had
broken
On
February
13,
2009,
and~------------~
published
an
article
in
The
LEDE,
NOTES
ON
THE
NEWS,
FROM
THE
NEW
YORK
TIMES
titled
"Steal
These
Federal
Records
-
Okay
,
Not
Literally"
.
The
following
information
is
found
in
the
article:
I
!published
an
online
manifesto
about
freeing
PACER
documents,
where
he
called
for
a Thumb
Drive
Corps
to
go
to
libraries
with
small
thumb
drives,
plug
them
into
computers,
download
as
many
court
documents
as
they
could,
and
send
them
to
lso
that
he
can
translate
them
into
a
format
that
GOOGLE's
~s~e~a~r~c~h~~software
can
read.
Investigation
on
02/17/2009
at
Manassas
I
VA
----~~--------
Fi
le#
288A-WF-238943
Date
dictated N
/A
~-------------------
by
--~S~A~---------------------J--------------------------------------
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the
FBI.
It
is
the property of the
FBI
and
is
loaned to your agency:
it
and its contents are not to
be
distributed outside your agency.
b6
b7C
b7
F
FD-302a (Rev. \0-6-95)
288A-WF-238943
Continuation ofFD-302
of
--~----------_r-------------------'02/17/2009
,Page ±
b6
b7C
SWARTZ
received
software
that
downloaded
documents
from
the
PACER
database
from!
lat
the
BERKMAN
CENTER
FOR
INTERNET
AND
SOCIETY
AT
HARVARD.
SWARTZ
improved
this
software,
saved
it
on
a
thumb
drive,
and
had
a
friend
in
California
take
the
thumb
drive
to
one
of
the
free
libraries
and
upload
the
program.
When
the
PACER
system
was
shut
down
with
no
notice,
~....:----.:---'1
told
SWARTZ
"You
need
to
talk
to
a
lawyer.
I
need
to
talk
to
a
lawyer."
Lawyers
toldl
land
SWARTZ
that
they
appeared
to
have
broken
no
laws.
At
that
point,
I
lsent
SWARTZ
a
text
message
saying
"You
should
just
lay
low
for
a
while."
FD-302
(Rev
.
10-6-95)
• 1 •
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
Date
of
transcription
03/09/2009
AARON
SWARTZ
posted
a
weblog
titled
"NYT
Personals"
at
http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog.
In
the
weblog,
SWARTZ
quotes
the
NEW
YORK
TIMES
article
in
which
he
was
interviewed
.
SWARTZ
also
posts
"Want
to
meet
the
man
behind
the
headlines?
Want
to
have
the
F.B.I
.
open
up
a
file
on
you
as
well?
Interested
in
some
kind
of
bizarre
celebrity
product
endorsement?
I'm
available
in
Boston
and
New
York
all
this
month"
.
Investigation
on
03/09/2009
at
Manassas,
VA
----~~--------
F~#
288A-WF-238943
Date
dictated N
/A
~~--------------
by
~L--------------------------1-------------------------------~----
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the
FBI.
It
is
the
property of
the
FBI
and
is loaned
to
your agency;
it
and
its contents are not
to
be
distributed outside your agency.
b6
b7C
b7
F
FD-302 (Rev. l0-6-95)
- 1 -
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
b6
b7C
Date
of
transcription
03/23/2009
On
March
10,
2009
,I
I
of
THE
ADMINISTRATIVE
OFFICE
OF
THE
US
COURTS
(US
COURTS}
prov~ded
the
following
information:
US
COURTS
was
relying
on
the
Notice
written
on
the
login
page
of
the
PACER
webpage,
pacer.uscourts.gov,
to
advise
users
that
unauthorized
access
to
the
PACER
system
is
not
allowed.
When a
user
goes
to
the
webpage
and
navigates
to
the
login
page,
a
Notice
is
shown
at
the
bottom
of
the
page
that
states
"NOTICE:
This
is
a
Restricted
Government
web
Site
for
official
PACER
use
only.
Unauthorized
entry
is
prohibited
and
subject
to
prosecution
under
Title
18
of
the
U.S.
Code.
All
activities
and
access
attempts
are
logged."
When
asked
to
clarify
how
a
user
knows
what
constitutes
unauthorized
access
and
how
a
user
would
have
known
that
they
had
to
be
in
one
of
the
seventeen
libraries
to
access
PACER, I I
ha
prepare
a
response.
~------~~provided
the
following
information:
AARON
SWARTZ
would
have
known
his
access
was
unauthorized
because
it
was
with
a
password
that
did
not
belong
to
him.
Library
patrons
did
not
sign
up
for
accounts.
One
login
and
password
were
provided
to
each
Federal
Depository
Library.
Each
library
agreed
to
not
share
the
password
with
any
organization
or
individual
user.
Verification
forms
were
signed
by
Depository
Coordinators
at
each
library
and
included
statements
regarding
login
and
password
security.
The
Seventh
Circuit
Court
of
Appeals
in
Chicago
had
a
one
hour
time
limit
on
their
public
access
computer
and
the
computer
was
completely
logged
off
after
each
session
by
a
staff
member.
[PACER
homepage
and
login
page
print-outs,
emails
from
Iandi
land
Federal
Depository
Library/PACER
~V~e-r-~~-~f~i-c-a~ti0n
Forms
are
attached.]
Investigation
on
03/10/2009
at
Manassas,
VA
----~~--------
~e#
288A-WF-238943
Date dictated N
/A
~-------------------
by
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the
FBI
. It
is
the property of
the
FBI
and
is loaned
to
your agency;
it and its . contents are not
to
be
distributed outside your agency.
b 6
b7C
b7
F
FD-302
(Rev
I
0-6-95)
- I -
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
b6
b 7C
b 7F
Date
of
transcription
04/14/2009
on
04/14/2009,
SAJ
~alled
(847)
432-8857
in
an
attempt
to
speak
to
AARON
S
ARTZ.
A
female
answered
the
telephone
and
stated
that
SWARTZ
was
not
available
at
that
telephone
number
any
longer
and
that
SlARTZ
did
rot
have
another
number
where
he
could
be
reached.
SA_left
a
message
for
SWARTZ
to
return
her
call
and
the
female
stated
that
she
would
email
that
message
to
SWARTZ.
voicemail
number
is
SWARTZ
called
sAl
Jand
left
a
message
on
her
stating
he
could
be
reache
at
(847)
877-8895.
This
a
T-Mobile
cellular
number
and
returned
negative
results
b7E
SA!
Jspoke
to
SWARTZ,
at
telephone
number
(847)
877-8895,
an
expla~ne
that
the
FBI
is
looking
for
information
on
how
SWARTZ
was
able
to
compromise
the
PACER
system
so
that
the
US
COURTS
could
implement
repairs
to
the
system
and
get
PACER
running
again.
SWARTZ
stated
that
he
would
have
to
talk
to
his
attorney
first
and
would
call
SAl l
back
at
a
later
time.
Investigation
on
04/14/2009
at
Manassas,
VA
------~--------
~e#
288A-WF-238943
Date dictated N
/A
~-------------------
by
SA
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the
FBI.
It
is the property of the
FBI
and
is
loaned to your agency;
it
and
it
s
contents
are
not
to
be
distributed
outside
your
agency.
FD-302
(Rev
.
10-6-95)
- 1 -
FEDERAL BUREAU
OF
INVESTIGA TJON
b6
b7C
b7F
Date
of
transcription
04/15/2009
I
lasked
if
the
FBI
had
an
official
inves;iaation
open
or
if
this
was
just
information
gathering.
sAl
I
responded
that
there
was
an
~t:;;n
investigation.
I ·
asked
if
he
needed
an
attorney
and
SA
.
lre~pon1ed
that
she
could
not
advise
him
on
that
matter.
SA .
old_
lthat
AARON
SWARTZ
was
told
in
a
conversation
yesterday
that
we
are
looking
for
information
into
how
the
compromise
occurred
so
that
the
US
COURTS
can
get
PACER
operational
again.
I
~esponded
with
"I
can
not
tell
you
how
Aaron
did
it."
I I
was
a I
~and
understands
the
security
system
of
PACER
and
can
speak
to
t
at.
Investigation
on
04/15/2009
at
Manassas,
VA
----~~--------
A~#
288A-WF-238943
Date dictated N
/A
~-------------------
by s
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the
FBI
.
It
is
the property of the
FBI
and
is
loaned
to
your agency;
it
and
its contents are not to
be
distributed outside your agency.
F
D-302
(Rev.
10-6-95)
- 1 -
FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
b6
b7C
b7
F
Date
of
transcription
04/16/2009
On
04
16
2009
SA
returned
a
os
on,
assurance
a 1
what
he
said
would
not
be
used
to
jeopardize
him.
explained
that
assurance
could
not
be
given
but
that
we
were
1n
an
information
gathering
phase
. 1
!refused
the
interview
without
the
assurance.
- -
Investigation
on
04/16/2009
at
Manassas,
VA
----~~--------
Date dictated N
/A
~-------------------
Fi
le#
288A-WF-238943
by
SA
This document contains neither recommendations nor conclusions of the
FBI.
It
is
the property of the FBI
and
is
loaned to your agency;
it and i
ts
contents are not
to
be distributed outside your agency.
(Rev
.
05-01-2008)
UNCLASSIFIED
FEDERAL
BUREAU
OF
INVESTIGATION
Precedence:
ROUTINE
To:
Cyber
Washington
Field
From:
Washington
Field
Attn:
Date:
04/20/2009
CIU-1/SsAI
SSA
._I
---....,------J
CR-17
I
NVRA~--------------------------------~
Contact:
SAL..----------------------'
Approved
By:
Drafted
By:
Case
ID
#:
288A-WF-238943
{Closed)
Title:
UNSUB{S);
US
COURTS
- VICTIM;
COMPUTER
INTRUSION -
OTHER
Synopsis:
To
close
case.
:b6
b
7C
b7
F
Details:
For
background,
the
u.s.
Courts
implemented
a
pilot
project
offering
free
access
to
federal
court
records
through
the
PACER
system
at
seventeen
federal
depository
libraries.
From
September
4 -
22,
2008,
PACER
was
accessed
by
computers
from
outside
the
library
utilizing
login
information
from
two
libraries
participating
in
the
pilot
project
.
The
login
information
was
compromised
at
the
Sacramento
County
Public
Law
Library
and
the
Seventh
Circuit
Court
of
Appeals
Library.
The
two
accounts
were
responsible
for
downloading
more
than
eighteen
million
pages
with
an
approximate
value
of
$1.5
million.
Investigation
determined
that
the
Amazon
IP
address
used
to
access
the
PACER
system
belongs
to
Aaron
Swartz.
Swartz
refused
an
interview
with
the
FBI.
I
!swartz
on
his
website
pacer.resource.org,
was
1nterv1ew
by
the
FBI
on
April
15,
2009.
Both
Swartz
and
I
~ere
interviewed
by
the
New
York
Times,
regarding
the
comprom1se
of
the
PACER
system.
UNCLASSIFIED
b 6
b 7C
=:
• .
.
...
,,
UNCLASSIFIED
To:
cyber
From:
Washington
Field
Re:
288A-WF-238943,
04/20/2009
CCIPS
Attorney!
lclosed
the
office's
case.
Based
on
the
CCIPS
closing,
Washington
Field
is
closing
this
case
as
of
this
communication.
UNCLASSIFIED
2
b6
b7
C
UNCLASSIFIED
To:
Cyber
From:
Washington
Field
Re:
288A-WF-238943,
04/20/2009
LEAD
(s):
Set
Lead
1:
(Info)
CYBER
AT
CIU-1
Read
and
clear
.
••
UNCLASSIFIED
3
FEDERAL BUREAU
OF
INVESTIGATION
FOIPA
DELETED PAGE INFORMATION SHEET
Serial Description - COVER SHEET
Total Deleted Page(s) - 2
Page 1 - Duplicate
Page
2 - Duplicate
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
X Deleted Pagels) X
X No Duplication 'Fee X
X
for
tliis
P_age
X
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx